Card dealing machine



Nov. 10, 1931. A. J. STECKER CARD DEALING MACHINE Filed Oct.

8, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet ATTO RNEYS NOV. 10, 1931. vSTEQK'ER CARD DEALING MACHINE Filed Oct. 8, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIHIV I fiym/ J. 5/2627;

ATTORNEYS A. J. STEC KER CARD DEALING MACHINE s Sheet-Sheel Filed Oct. 8, 1930 fice;

ATTORNEYS the mechanism after Patented Nov. 10, 1931 ALFRED VJ. srnoxnn, or onona'nn LAKE, momma CARD DEALING ivmotnun Application. filed October 8, 1930. Seria1 1\To.-487,270.

The present inventionpertains to a novel machine'for dealing out playing cards where by to avoid the process of manual dealing that is now'practiced.

5 As already suggested, one of the objects of the invention is to do away with the effort entailed in the manual dealing of cards. An other object is to remove the possibility-of dishonest dealing, since the machine deals out the cards in succession from thetop of the pack placedtherein.

The machine has four dischargeslots and is positioned on theplaying table insuch a V manner that the slots face the playersidn the .o eration of the machine, the cards are issued "successively througlr the, slots and hencesuccessively to the players.

The invention further embodies an automatic deal indicator and an automatic stop.

F I I I The deal indicator 1S geared tothe dealing mechanism in such a manner as to advance from one station to the next in the course of a complete deal. The automatic stop locks the last card has been delivered, so that the machine cannot bedamaged by operation while emptyuand the deal indicator cannot be thrown out of register. The lHLQIlt-iOll is fully disclosed by way of example in the foll'owingdescription and in the accompanying drawings, in which-- F igure'l is a plan view of the device with the cover broken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof; 7 Fig. 3 is a transverse section on theline 33 of Figure 2; r

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 4- 4 of Figure 1; i

Fig.5 is an end elevation partly in section; F igp6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the cards bent on an axis lengthwise thereof;

Fig. 7 is a corresponding section on the line 7-7 of Figure 6; I 1 a Fig. 8 is a detail section on theline 8--8 of Figure 1;

Fig; 9 is a detail section on the of Figure 1;:a'nd I Fig. 10 is adetail perspective view. Reference to these views will now be made by use of like characters which are employed line 9-9 under tension against the samebymeans of G thegear and one of the shafts 13.

rounding the stud and resting-on the boss is a large-worm gear 7 serving a purpose which w ll presentlyhe described. Upon athegear 69 7 mounted a sprocket wheel 8 in contact therewith and held infrictional engagement therewith by means of adished spring plate 9 bearing on the sprocket wheel-and .held

a screw 10 threaded into the stud 6.

.Upon the toppl-ate ,3 are formed pairs-of aligned bearings 11 near each edge forthe purpose of shifting shafts Band 13 along thelongitudinaland transverse edges respec tively of the top plate. The shafts aregeared together at diagonally opposite corners by means of ineshmg bevel pinions .14 at the endsthereef. On each shaft 12 is secured a worm 15 meshing with the large gear 7 as shownin Figure 1. I v A bridge l6 is mounted on thetop plate 3 adjacentthe gear7 and preferably between The object of this member is to retain a fixed stud 17,

and the lnemher is made in the formofa bridge to avoid interfering with certain structure therebeneath as will'presently appear. Upon the stud is rotatablymounted a sprocket pinion 18 in the same plane wi-ththe 35 sprocket gear 8 and operatively connected thereto by a sprocket chain 19 passed over both members. Onthe stud is also mounted the hub 20 of an operating handle or crank 21. The hub20 has a one-way clutch connection-22 to the member 18 in order that the latterinay be driven in only one direction on turning the. crank 21 in the proper direction. It will not be apparent" that such turningof the handle imparts a rotaryn1otion to the sprocket wheel '8 and thenceto thelarge gear 7 although the latter members will slip. due. to the frictional-engagement tll6I'6b6hW8B1'l,lf there is. any obstruetionto the operation of-the machine. The appacenter of "hang over tioned movement of ratus is constructed to function when the crank 21 and gear 7 are turned in clockwise direction, as may be seen by examination of the clutch 22 in Figure 2.

Within the confines of the wall 2 is disposed a slidable bottom plate 24 resting on crossed springs 25 disposed between it and the base 1. The member 24 is designed to support a pack of cards 26, and the tendency of the springs 25 is to move the cards upwardly towards the top plate 3.

The cards are inserted by manipulation of one of the lengthwise portions of the Wall 2 which is constructed in the nature of a door 27 attached to the base by hinges 28 as may be seen in Figures3 and 4. The apparatus is enclosed in a stamped cover 29 secured to the base, and the cover has an opening 30 at the door 27 for access thereto.

The cover plate 3 is formed with built up guideways 31 extending from the boss 5 perpendicularly towards the shafts 12 and 13 as may be seen more clearly in Figures 1, 9 and 10. In the guide-ways are mounted slides 32 adapted to expel a card from the pack 26 when moved towards the the machine as will presently appear. Each of the transverse slides is formed with a longitudinal slot 32' to accommodate the superposed pinion 15 as shown in Figure 9. The outer end of each guide carries a pair of pivotally supported dogs 33 with pro jecting shoulders 34 (Figure 2) adaptedto the edge of the upper card. The inner end of each slide 32 is equipped with a roller-35, and the lower face of the gear 7 is formed with a cam 36 adaptedto engage the rollers successively, draw them 1nwardly, and thus cause the dogs of each slide to move the top card towards a slot 37 in the opposite side of the cover 29. The shafts 12 and 13 carry pairs of rollers 38 beneath which are provided cooperating roller shafts 39 journalled on the wall 2. The aforementhe slides is sutlicient to insert the top card between the rollers which are so spaced as to exert a tractive pressure on the opposite faces of the card. Since the shafts 12 and 13 are turned by actuation of the crank 21, a card delivered to the rollers will be moved through the adjacent slot 37 if the turning of the crank is continued.

The lower face of the gear 7 is further top of the formed with a retracting cam 40 positioned behind the cam 36 withrespect to a clockwise direction of rotation and adapted toengage the rollers 35 successively after they have been drawn towards the center by the cam 36 and to return them to the position where the dogs thereof lie at the edge of the pack of cards. Prior to being operated again, each pair of dogs must remain idle while cards are expelled by the other three slides and in three diiferent directions, in one of 1 which directions a card must be passed beneath the pair of dogs under consideration. Assuming that this pair is that shown at the righthand end of Figure 2, it will be seen that the dogs must be removed from the path of the uppermost card when the latter is to be expelled through the slot 3? at the righthand end of the cover. The dogs under consideration are capable of further outward movement beyond the position shown at the righthand end of Figure 2, as may be seen by the position of the cam 36 in Figure 1. The dogs move in slots 41 at the edges of the plate 3, and the outer wall of each slot is sloped or beveled downwardly towards the center of the plate as indicated by the nu meral 42. The dogs carry lateral pins 43 (Figure 10) which ride on the sloping ends 42 during the aforementioned outward movement of the slides, whereby the dogs are successively raised out of the path of the upper card as illustrated at the lefthand end of Figure 2.

The guides 31 which are belt up irom the plate 3 havetheir outer extremities beveled to slope downwardly towards the center of the device as indicated by the numeral 44 in Figure 10. When the dogs are raised to a clear position, the pins 43 thereof lie adjacent the ends 44. Thus, when av slide positioned as shown at the lefthand end of Figure 2 is initially drawn inwardly by the expelling cam40, the pins 43 first ride along the ends 44 whereby the dogs are turned to an upright position so that the teeth 34 thereof overhang the edge of the upper card and are in position to propel the card on continued movement of the slide by the cam 40.

In order to enable proper'dealing of the cards in the event that they have become bent in use, gate members 45 are slidably mounted on each of the four parts of the wall 2 and are retained in a sliding position by guide plates 46 secured to the wall 2. Vith the exception of the gate on the door member 27 the gates are normally moved upwardly by coil springs 47 resting on the base 1 and hearing against sockets 48 formed at the lower edge of the gates. The gate 45 on the door 27 has at its lower end a stud 49 engaged by a fiat or wire spring 50, the ends of which are mounted on studs 51 fixed to the door. The spring is so tensioned as to exert an upward force on the gate. This construction is illustrated in Figure 4 which also shows the means for retaining the door in closed position. Latch bolts 52 are slidably supported in ears 53 formed on the door and have their outer ends adapted for reception in slots 54 formed in the parts of the wall 2 at the ends of the door. The inner ends of the members 52 are reduced as at 55 and slidably received in a bracket 56 secured to the door. These ends are surrounded by springs 5'? which bear against the bracket, thereby tending to move the bolts .52 into the slots 54. The bolts are pulled together and drawn out of the slots for opening the door, by pressing on tabs 58 formed on the members'52 near the reduced ends thereof.

With reference again. to the gates 45, the

lower ttace of the top plate 3 has fiat springs secured thereto as shown more clearly in Figure 6. The free'end of each such spring carries a spacing member 61 adapted to rest upon one of the gates 45.

The springs 60 are positionedat the mid points of the edges of the cards as may be seen in Figures 4 and 7. The springs 60 are stronger than the sprin s 47 so that the final position of the gates is determined by the engagement of the springs 60 with the edges of the topcard. When the pack of cards is spent, one pair of parallel edges will be lower than the other pair. When the dogs 33 are a in elevated position at the lower edges, the

gates 45 are depressed to the extent determined by the engagement of the springs 60 with the lower edges.

The do Q'S 3-3 at the higher edges of the pack,

in swinging from the elevated to the lower or operative position shown at the righthand end of Figure 2, depress these edges and hold them in a depressed position due to the fact that the length of each dog from the. pivot point to the card-engaging should-er thereof is sufiicient to take up the difference in height between the higher and lower edges. In other words, the points on which the dogs rest when in operative position are depressed l to substantially the level of the lower edges where engaged by the springs 60. The tooth 3 1 of each dog, l1OW8V61,lS only of such length as to overhang the top card, so that whenthe dog is propelled, it expels only the top card.

An automatic deal indicator is incorporated in the device and is operated from the crank 21. The indicator-proper comprises a ratchet journalled on a stud 66 formed on the lower face of the cover 29 and held by a screw 67 and spring 68. The face of the ratchet has a flange 69 hearing the characters N, E, S, V. These characters indicate the positions at the playing table and are'visible one at a time as they pass beneath an opening 1 70 in the top of the cover 29.

spring 7 5 to a fixed point on the cover 29 and thereby tends to draw the members-Tl and "4i away from the ratchet and to bring the tooth 7 2 into the path of the member 7 3 to be engaged thereby.

The ratchet is advanced one tooth with and .the head 82 drops each revolution of the gear"? or with the dealing of every fourth card. There are fifty-two cards therefore advances the ratchet thirteen teeth or one station.

The machine also has an automatic stop device to avoid any possible destructive re sult by turning the crank 21 after all the cardshave been dealt out and also to avoid overrunning of the deal indicator. A boss 7 6 is formed on the top plate 3 as shown in Figure 8 and has a pin 77 slidably mounted therein. The pin has a reduced and rounded lower end 7 8 resting upon the pack of cards and adapted to drop into an aperture 7 9 in the bottom plate 24 when all the cards have been dispensed. An arm 80 extends laterally from the pin 7 7 through a slot 81 in the boss and carries at its free end a circular head 82 adapted to drop into an opening 83 in the gear 7 when the member 78 drops into the aperture 7 9. The hole 83 is so positioned on the gear 7 that it registers with the head 82 when any multiple of four cards remains between the plates 3 and 24:, so that there will also be a registration immediately on the delivery of the lastcard. At this time, the pin 77 descends by its own weight i into the opening 83 to lock the gear so that the machine can no longer be operated. The opening 83 is pref- I "erabiyelongated as shown in Figure 1 to facilitate entrance of the head 82 therein.

V The plate 24 and base 1 carry angular fingers 85 adapted to interlock as shown in Figure 5. Normally, however, the fingers are disengaged so that the-member 2d may move. lVhen a deck of cards is to be inserted'at the door 27, the fingers are brought if into interlocking engagement which ispermitted by the looseness; of the member 2a within the confines of the wall 2. The plate 241 is thus held in a depressed position against the tension of the springs 25 while a new deck is being inserted, after which the fingers may be released from each other by merely shifting the plate 24:. 7

The device is operated by merely turning the handle 21 continuously in clockwise di rection. By the mechanism already scribed in detail, the cards are delivered in cooperating 2B succession from the slots 32 at the four sides of the device. The machine is positioned on the playing table so that each slot faces one of the players. When the entire pack of cards has been distributed, the machine is looked against further-motion by the head 82, l

and the next dealer is indicated at the opening70 as also previously described. Although a specific embodiment of the invention hasbeen illustrated and described, it

will be understood that various alterations in the details of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the inwent-ion, as indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is l. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, ejecting members adapted to move cards towards said openings, a main gear, a cam on saidgear adapted to operate said ejecting members successively, and means for returning said members to initial position.

2. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral'openings, ejecting members adapted to, move cards towards said openings, a main gear, an expelling cam on said gear adapted to operate said members successively, and a retracting cam on said gear adapted to return said members successively to initial position.

3. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, ejecting members adapted to move cards towardssaid openings, a main gear, a cam on said gear adapted to operate sa1d ejecting members successively, means for returning said members to initial position, and a pair of rollers at each opening adapted to receive a card therebetwcen, said rollers being geared to said main gear, vhereby to deliver the cards througl'i said openings after recelvlng them from said ejecting members.

n'ie nbers adapted ice main gear, whereby to deliver the cards through said openings arter receiving them from said ejecting members.

5. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle havlng lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly,

ejecting members slidably mounted on said top plate and adapted to move cards towards said openings, a main plate upwardly,

gear, a cam on said gear adapted to operate said ejecting members successlvcly, and

'means for returning said members to initial position.

6. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom ejecting members slidably mounted on said top plate and adapted to move cards towards said openings, a main gear, a cam on said gear adapted to operate said ejecting members successively, means for returnin said members to initial position, and apair of rollers at each opening 3 7 adapted to receive acardtherebetween, said rollers being geared to. said main geanwherebyto deliver the cards through said openings after receiving them from said ejecting members. I p

7. A card dealingmachine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said .top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slidesand adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, a cam on said main gear adapted to accommodate said slides successively, and means for returning said slides to initial position.

8. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings,a fixed top plate and afioating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slides and adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, an expelling cam on said gear adapted to operate said slides successively,and a retracting cam on said gear adapted to return said slides successively to initial position.

9. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plat-e upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slides and adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, an expelling cam on said gear-adapted to operate said slides successively, a retracting cam on said gear adapted to return saidslidessuccessively to initial position, means for lifting said dogs clearof said cards when in extreme retracted position and for returning said dogs into active engagementwith the uppermost card at the commencement of. the expelling movement of said slides. I 7

10. A card dealing machine comprisinga receptacle having lateral openings, ejecting,

members adapted to move cards towards said openings, a main gear, a cam on said gear adapted to operatesaid ejecting members successively, means for returning said members to initial position, and a deal indicator geared to said main gear in such ratio. as to advance one station in the dealing of a deck of cards. 7

11. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, ejecting membersadapted to move cards towards said openings, a main gear, a cam on saidgear adapted to operate said ejecting members successively, means for returning said mem bers to initial position, and a stop member carried by a fixed part of the device and adapted to lock said bottom plate on removal of the last card therefrom. V V

12. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, an inner wall within said receptacle and adapted to confine a deck of cards, a top plate fixedly supported in said receptacle, ejecting members slidably mounted on paid top plate and adapted to move cards towards said openings, a main gear, a cam on said gear adapted to operate said ejecting members successively, means for returning said members to initial position, spring supported gates slidably mounted on said inner wall, and spring pressed spacer members carried by the lower face of said top plate and bearing downward- 1y upon said gates.

13. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said} openings, dogs carried by said slides and adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, a cam on said. main gear adapted to accommodate said slides suc cessively, means for returning said slides to initial position, an inner wall within said receptacle beneath said top plate and adapted to confine a deck of cards, spring supported gates slidably mounted on said inner wall, and spring pressed spacer members carried by the lower face of said top plate and bear ing downwardly upon said gates.

14. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urgin said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slides and adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, a cam on said main gear adapted to accommodate said slides successively, means for returning said slides to initial position, and a pair of rollers at each opening adapted to receive a card therebetween, said rollers being geared to said main gear, whereby to deliver, the cards through said openings after receiving them from said slides.

15. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptaole, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slides and adapted to enp'a 'e the ed es of'the u oermost card on said bottom plate, a cam on said main gear adapted to accommodate said slides succes-;

sively, means for returning said slides to initial position, an inner wall within said receptacle beneath said top plate and adapted to confine a deck of cards, spring supported gates slidably mounted on said inner wall, spring pressed spacer members. carried by the at each opening adapted to receive a card" therebetween, said rollers being geared to said main gear, whereby to deliver the cards through said openings after receiving them from said slides.

16. A carddealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slidesmounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, shouldered means carried by said slides and adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card onsaid bottom plate, a cam on said main gear adapted to accommodate said slides successively, and means for returning said slides to initial position.

17. A card dealing machine comprising a receptacle having lateral openings, a fixed top plate and a floating bottom plate in said receptacle, spring means urging said bottom plate upwardly, slides mounted on said top plate and adapted to move towards said openings, dogs carried by said slides and having shoulders adapted to engage the edges of the uppermost card on said bottom plate, a cam on said main gear adapted to accommodate said slides successively, and means for returnlower face of said top plate and bearing down- 

